![Higher returns can be found, if you're prepared to take on additional risk. Illustration: Karl Hilzinger](/web/20160831152340im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/p/n/g/c/l/image.related.wideLandscape.940x529.gr0rb2.12uqus.png/1472593209415.jpg)
Money features
![Investors should be more slothlike – or at least more patient – when waiting for returns.](/web/20160831152340im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/r/1/k/n/t/image.related.landscape.120x80.gr1km8.png/1472168482219.jpg)
Don't just do something, sit there
Evolution teaches us that action beats inaction – and it's usually true, but not when it comes to investment.
![The new CEO of Woolworths, Brad Banducci, on the day the company announced its 2015-2016 results.](/web/20160831152340im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/r/0/s/w/2/image.related.landscape.120x80.gr2r5c.png/1472522804743.jpg)
Market expectations are a short-term drag for companies
Results matter less - in the short term - than you might think.
![<P>](/web/20160831152340im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/r/4/i/v/9/image.related.landscape.120x80.gr4ic5.png/1472534906631.jpg)
How to choose your first credit card
Choosing your first credit card is equal parts daunting and exciting.
![Federal Treasurer Scott Morrison issued a dire warning on federal finances last week.](/web/20160831152340im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/r/1/7/o/o/image.related.landscape.120x80.gr3gov.png/1472618516411.jpg)
Does high government debt really cause recessions?
Recent economic research has debunked the link between government debt and lower growth.
![Wealthy retirees will take a modest hit under new super rules](/web/20160831152340im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/o/j/z/3/r/image.related.landscape.120x80.gr1td8.png/1472520408662.jpg)
Reforms to super tax breaks are fair
The Turnbull government's plans to rein in the super tax breaks going to the well-off are modest and fair.
![Cover with vignette flown by Ross and Keith Smith, 1919.](/web/20160831152340im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/q/y/v/h/k/image.related.landscape.120x80.gqz81k.png/1472520624196.jpg)
How postage stamps tell the history of aviation
A branch of stamp collecting known as "aerophilately" focuses on air mail letters, often the only surviving records of aviation milestones.
![Many of these classic personal finance books will be available in the library.](/web/20160831152340im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/r/3/e/k/7/image.related.landscape.120x80.gr2u4a.png/1472535624773.jpg)
5 self-help books to help you master money
Reading personal finance books helped Australian writer Emma Vuletic through a painful divorce in New York City.
![Gen Xers are the biggest cat lovers.](/web/20160831152340im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/r/0/x/a/x/image.related.landscape.120x80.gqz1og.png/1472343039693.jpg)
Dogs v cats? We'll pay vets almost double to treat one
The average dog owner is prepared to spend up to $4128 in one hit at the vet.
![Labor has performed a back flip on the super policies it took to the election.](/web/20160831152340im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/r/1/1/s/y/image.related.landscape.120x80.gr11u5.png/1472106430625.jpg)
Labor flip-flops on super
Just when we thought we had a set of proposed changes to the superannuation system that everybody could agree on, and which were seen to be fair, Labor is trying to move the goalposts again.
!["It takes a whole village to have me work," says Sydney's Betina Naiman with husband Clarence and two daughters Libby, ...](/web/20160831152340im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/q/y/0/k/v/image.related.landscape.120x80.gqwwfo.png/1472343785900.jpg)
Coalition's childcare reforms duds city families in fine print
This is the formula to figure out if you'll be worse off under the Coalition's childcare changes.
![The government has released sufficient information to allow you to plan ahead for retirement.](/web/20160831152340im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/r/0/t/s/7/image.related.landscape.120x80.gr0std.png/1472094090058.jpg)
How to plan ahead for the superannuation changes
Even though the government is still to finalise the precise details of the budget super changes, retirees have sufficient information to plan ahead.
![Australian Czarlette Menzagopian was on her honeymoon in Miami last year when the credit card she shares with her ...](/web/20160831152340im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/r/1/3/7/3/image.related.landscape.120x80.gqyre6.png/1472427748745.jpg)
US the hot spot for overseas credit-card fraud
Tips for keeping your payments secure.
![Mining services stocks are on a tear, something Phil Baker is taking advantage of in this Shares Race.](/web/20160831152340im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/h/l/m/a/n/image.related.landscape.120x80.gr1kvn.png/1472169962723.jpg)
The cream rises to the top in week two
Company profit season has delivered some spectacular hits and misses, with the gap between first and last place blowing out.
![Don't make decisions for your elderly parents for your own benefit.](/web/20160831152340im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/r/0/p/h/2/image.related.landscape.120x80.gr0p67.png/1472088451316.jpg)
Let elderly parents control their own assets
Financial expert George Cochrane answers readers' questions.
![It's easy to spend a tax return and not even notice it, just like you feel hungry after eating white bread.](/web/20160831152340im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/q/w/q/j/z/image.related.landscape.120x80.gqwqh5.png/1471586035722.jpg)
Three ways to make your tax refund last longer
The average tax return is just more than $3000 but it's often frittered away.
![Get properly insured as one of the biggest mistakes is leaving yourself and your family financially exposed to traumatic ...](/web/20160831152340im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/q/y/1/j/p/image.related.landscape.120x80.gqy5qc.png/1471847378900.jpg)
The 10 biggest money mistakes
If you're smart, over your lifetime a deliberate trickle of "me" money will become a big personal pool of cash – which you can then happily splash. But all too often, slip-ups along the way instead drain a fun fund.
![Arthur Streeton's 1907 panorama of Sydney Harbour is listed for sale for only the fourth time.](/web/20160831152340im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/q/w/w/n/v/image.related.landscape.120x80.gqwu2a.png/1472165469103.jpg)
Streeton's Sydney Harbour is art world's 'absolute waterfront'
Sir Arthur Streeton's magnificent 1907 panorama of Sydney Harbour is listed for public sale on August 31 for only the fourth time.
![Emerging markets can rewards investors for taking risks.](/web/20160831152340im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/m/b/g/e/0/image.related.landscape.120x80.gqw7z1.png/1471942650647.jpg)
Index tracking can miss the mark
Index investments are proving popular with investors.
![Investors should ignore reporting season hype.](/web/20160831152340im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/q/8/8/2/m/image.related.landscape.120x80.gqyw2f.png/1472453183992.jpg)
How to navigate reporting season as an investor
As earnings season takes over the business pages, here's a few pointers for investors to consider.
![Underemployment has increased most in sectors such as hospitality and retail.](/web/20160831152340im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/q/v/x/4/9/image.related.landscape.120x80.gquh3w.png/1471923627664.jpg)
The jobs market is softer than the unemployment rate suggests
The strong growth in part-time employment shows "flexibility" comes with a cost for many workers.
![Dr Colin Goldschmidt, the chief executive of Sonic Healthcare, which bumped its top line by 20 per cent and its bottom ...](/web/20160831152340im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/q/w/l/5/c/image.related.landscape.120x80.gqwl6d.png/1471929801561.jpg)
Healthcare is a popular sector but investors are fickle
We're all getting older, we all get sick, and the continuous improvements in technology mean medicos are finding more – and more expensive – ways to patch us up and keep us going.
![When Woolworths South Africa bought David Jones, once shareholders passed a scheme of arrangement, it became compulsory ...](/web/20160831152340im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/q/v/u/7/s/image.related.landscape.120x80.gqvtwp.png/1471520166810.jpg)
Corporate takeover? Decide for yourself whether to sell your shares
If there's a takeover bid for a company you are invested in, you don't need to sell your shares straight away.